Crutch



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CRUTCE.-

Patented Deo.` 28, 1897.

Iwan/Z402? UNrTnD STATES PATENT Ormea.

EDWIN S. DRAKE, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

CRUTCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 596,203, datedDecember28, 1897. Application iiled November 19, 1897. Serial No. 659,086. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, EDWIN S. BRAKE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Portland, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Orutches; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eX- actdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of the invention is to provide a crutch that is adjustable inlength, so as to accommodate persons of varying stature, and to make thehandhold of the crutch adjustable either independently or together withthe adjustment of the crutch itself, and also to provide an elastic andventilated arm-rest.

With these objects in view the invention consists in the constructionillustrated in the accompanying drawings and described and claimed inthe following specification.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation ofV my crutch.Fig. 2 is an edge elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is an enlargedhorizontal section through the handhold on the line 3 3 of Fig. l. Fig.4 is a fragment comprising an inner view of one of the handhold-clips,looking from the inside. Fig. 5 is a perspective of one of thehandhold-clips, and Fig. 6 is a similar vienr of the clamping devicewhich is carried by these clips and operated by the handhold. As shownin Fig. l, the crutch is composed of two parts or sections A and B, eachof these sections being composed of side pieces, the letters a cdenoting the side pieces of the lower section and t b the correspondingpieces of the upper section. The side pieces of the section A havesecured at their upper ends metallic loops d ct', which encircle theside pieces of the section B and permit them to slide therein withrespect to the side pieces c a. In like manner the lower ends of theside pieces of the section B have secured to them metallic loops b t',similar in all respects to the loops a' a and permitting the side piecesa a to slide therethrough with respect to the side pieces of the sectionB.

For the purpose of securing the crutch-sections in various positions ofadjustment With respect to each other, and thereby altering the heightor length of the device as a whole,

I provide clips j' j", which encircle the side pieces of both sections,but are not secured to either, except as it is desired to clamp saidside pieces together for the purpose of making the desired adjustment.These clips are preferably of the form shown in Fig. 5 and haveprojecting from their inner faces toward each other threaded studs f f',the threads of one of said studs being left-hand threads and those ofthe opposite stud being right-hand threads. Seated in a recess in theinner side of the clips ff, so as to bear against the side pieces of thecrutch-section A, are rectangular clamping-plates g g, said plateshaving projections g g', which extend through openings g2 g2 in the sideof the clips.

The handhold e consists ot' a wooden grip of the ordinary description,but having a central bore longitudinally of its length, in which ismounted a metallic tube or sleeve h. The ends of this handhold-tube areinteriorly threaded, so as to screw upon the threaded studs f j of theclips f f, and to permit this the threads in the tube ends must be rightand left, as already explained in connection with the studs. The ends ofthe tube h are encircled by metallic ferrules t2 2; and the tube itselfis connected with the wooden grip bya pin t', passing through the gripand through a slot t" in the walls of the tube, which permits of aslight play of the tube lengthwise in the grip, for a purpose that willpresently be explained. One of the objects of the invention being to adjust the position of the handhold independently of any adjustment in thelength of the crutch', the construction of clamping devices justdescribed is also applicable to crutches that are not adjustable; butWhen employed in crutches that are adjustable it enables the tworesults-viz., the adj ustment of the position of the handhold and thealteration in the length of the crutch-to be performed by the onedevice.

The operation of this clamping device is as follows: The side pieces ofeach member of i IOO in the clips, when by further screwing up thehandheld the clamping-plates g are forced outwardly against the innerside pieces a. and the outer sides of the clips are simultaneously drawnforwardly against the outer side pieces b, the result being to clampboth the pieces a and b tightly together and also te clamp the handheldsecurelyin position thereon. The purpose of permitting the tube 7L tomove longitudinally in the grip c is to obtain an even bearing andpressure upon each of the clamping-plates by allowing the tube, in caseone end contacts with one ef the clamping-plates before the otherengages the opposite plate, to move with respect te the grip, se as tebear equally on both plates before the clamping eiiect begins.

The side pieces ef the crutch members are preferably bowed outwardly, asshown in Fig. l, the object being to obtain suiiieient space between forthe handheld, as well as to give the crutch a truss-likeform, whichgreatly increases its strength and which enables me to lighten theconstruction ef the device without appreciably weakening it.Incidentally to this construction I am enabled to obtain an elasticcushion er arm rest for the upper end of the crutch, there beingsufficient elasticity or resilience in the side pieces themselves teebviate the necessity for speciallycenst-ructed cushions. To this end Isecure between the side pieces of the upper section B a spacing-block c,and above this bleek the pieces b b are flared outwardly away from eachother, as shown in Fig. Secured to the extremities of these pieces andsuspended between them is the leather strip d, which is preferablyprovided with Ventilating Opeliings and ef a width to afford thenecessary bearing-surface. This strip is suspended hammock-like from theends of the side pieces and the resilience of the pieces themselvesgives the desired cushion effect.

As already explained, the device for adj usting the hand-hold itself isapplicable to crutches that are not extensible in length, as also is theelastic cushion-rest at the top,

1 and although I prefer te employ both parts in a crutch that isextensible I de not wish te be understood as limiting myself te suchcrutches.

\Vhat I claim and desire to secure is l. In a crutch, the combination ofclips encircling the side pieces, oppesitely-threaded studs projectinginwardly from each of said clips, aliandheld having eppesitely-threadedends screwing upon said studs, and clampingplates inclosed between theinner side of the clips and the side pieces of the crutch and havingprojections extending through the clip and adapted to be thrust outwardby the ends of the handheld as it is screwed upon the studs.

2. In a crutch, the combination of the side pieces b, b, bowed outwardlyat their middle portion, and converging upwardly above such point, thehandle c, the spacing-block c, se-

cured between the side pieces above the handle and at the-peint belowthe upper ends of said side pieces Where they approach each other, andthe iiexible strap (l, suspended between said ends, the side piecesbeing elastic and i'lared outwardly above the spacingblock.

El. In an extensible crutch, the combination with the side pieces of theupper portion, and the side pieces of the lower portion, of guideloepssecured te the side pieces of each portion through which thecorresponding pieces of the other portion slide, clips inclosing bothside pieces and adjustable lengthwise as to beth, said clips havingoppositely-threaded studs `projecting inwardly from each side of thecrutch, a handheld having eppesitelythreaded ends screwingupon saidstuds, and clamping-plates inclosed in the clips an d having projectionsextending through the walls of the same and operated by the handle ends.

4E. In an extensible crutch, the combination with the side pieces of theupper portion, and the side pieces of the lower portion, ef guideloopssecured to the side pieces ef each pertion through which thecorresponding pieces of the other portion slide, clips inclesin g bothside pieces and adjustable lengthwise as te both, said clips havingoppositely-threaded studs projecting inwardly from each side of thecrutch, a handheld inclosing a tube having oppositely-threaded endsscrewing upon said studs, clamping-plates inclosed in the clips andoperated by the ends of the tube, and a slet-and-pin connection betweenthe tube and the handheld.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

-EDIVIN S. BRAKE.

IVitnesses:

J. A. GoLDsBoRoUGH, J oI-IN C. PENNIE.

IOO

